Electric connectors that prevent moisture from entering a housing of the electrical connector are commonly used in many industries. Generally, these sealed or waterproof connectors have a seal member formed of an elastomer arranged at a wire receiving opening of the housing where electric wires are connected to a contact or a fitting component of a mating connector. The seal member seals the entrance for the electric wires, which are connected to contacts inside the housing to prevent the influx of water therein. The seal member may either be an individual seal member where the seal member is individually attached to each of a plurality of the electric wires or a collective or gang seal member where the seal member is attached to the plurality of the electric wires as a group.
Typical individual wire seals are formed with flanges around an outside circumference of the seal member. The individual wire seals are positioned proximate the terminals provided at the ends of the wires and are inserted into terminal receiving passages of the housing of the connector. The flanges press against inside walls of the passages to seal the housing. The passages are thereby individually sealed to prevent the ingress of moisture.
Typical collective or gang seals are made from an elastomer and are formed to have a plurality of wire receiving through-holes. Terminals provided at the ends of the wires are inserted through the wire receiving through-holes and are inserted into terminal receiving passages of the housing of the connector. End walls or flanges of the collective or gang seal engage inside walls of a seal receiving cavity of the housing of the connector to seal the housing. The seal receiving cavity is thereby sealed to prevent the ingress of moisture.
While both individual wire seals and collective seals are effective, each seal has required a different housing in order to provide and maintain an effective seal. The need for multiple housings requires multiple tooling and increase inventory, as multiple parts are required, thereby increasing the cost of such part.
It would, therefore, be beneficial to provide a housing which provides and maintains an effective seal using either individual wire seals or collective seals. It would also be beneficial if the same housing could accept the wires and terminals in applications in which sealing is not required.